[Pictures to come]
Doug Getgood lead the Toronto Survivalism Group on an excellent hike recently. Here are several things I learned:
Carry an epinephrine and Benadryl in case you have an unexpected reaction to a plant. Some can kill you quickly. Also to get an allergic reaction you often have to try the plant on two different occasions. [Notes from Wikipedia: "Benadryl is used as an antihistamine for the temporary relief of seasonal and perennial allergy symptoms. Benadryl is available for oral or topical use." From ehow.com's hiker's first aid kit page: "Benadryl can slow a moderate to severe allergic reaction, giving you more time to get someone to medical care." Also see Create a hiker's first aid kit. Regarding epinephrine, Shopwiki.com says: "If anyone in your family has life-threatening allergies, keep an epinephrine kit or an EpiPen in every first aid kit."]
Pick only if there is an abundance of the wild plant. Only harvest up to 5%.
Avoid eating roots that come from soil that may be contaminated or near major roads. The greens are better as they absorb less toxins.
Avoid mushrooms as a survival food as they take more energy to find and collect than they supply in food value. They are very low in calories and fat.
Use field guide books to correctly identify plants and check if they are edible. Be very cautious. There are often similar plants that are poisonous or even deadly.
Doug uses Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide for identification. There is a index based on type of leaf and other characteristics. Next he uses Peterson Field Guide: Edible Wild Plants to check how edible the plant is. This book also shows poisonous look-a-likes.
Yarrow – “looks like the feather of an arrow.” Use for stopping bleeding. If you have a cold, a yarrow tea will warm the body.
Wild Mustard – edible but a bit harsh if you have too much. Eat seed pods or leaves.
Willow – you can eat the inner bark in an emergency. The bark has aspirin properties. Bendy branches can be used for weaving a basket.
Cattails – very edible. In the winter or early spring you dig up sideways tubers that are good to eat. Once the plant starts growing, the inner lower stalk is edible. During the flower stage, the early yellow top flower is full protein and delicious. It can also be dried into a flour or mixed with grain flour to extend it. Later the green flower tops can be eaten, and once dried out, they make good tinder.
Wild carrot – the root is edible in spring, but best to avoid as there is a poisonous look-a-like. Easy to identify later in the year as you can see the Queen Anne’s Lace distinctive flower. If eating, make sure a dead plant from the previous year is near by. The old flower will look like a cobweb. Also should have hairy stems. [from www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/queen.html: Extreme caution must be used when collecting wild carrots; they closely resemble poisonous water hemlock (cicuta maculata), poison hemlock (conium maculatum) and fool's parsley (aethusa cynapium), all of which can be deadly. It was poison hemlock, that Socrates was compelled to take. Fortunately, there is a simple way to tell the difference. Both poison hemlock and fool's parsley smell nasty; just roll some leaves between your thumb and forefinger, and smell. Wild carrot, especially the root, smells like (you guessed it) carrots. Also, the stem of the wild carrot is hairy, and the stem of poison hemlock is smooth."]
Spruce – Identify by observing how the needles go around the stem. In spring you can eat the tender boughs. You can collect boughs for bedding. The sticky sap can be put on a cut to make a protective scab. The sab can also be mixed with ash (and optionally with some oil) to make a glue. This can also be a good fire starter mixture.
Smoke signals – If you are lost in the woods and need to signal an aircraft, spruce boughs make a distinctive white smoke. And you can burn birch bark to make a black smoke.
Yew – This is the one evergreen that is poisonous. The needles are dark on top and lighter on the bottom, and the tree has a distinctive shape. The wood is good for making a bow. Split a branch down the middle and bend so that the outer sap wood stretches the most.
Cedar – The bark makes good tinder and the wood is excellent for starting a fire using friction.
Sumac – The red flowers that come out later in the summer are loaded with vitamin C. Put them in a cheesecloth or sock and soak in cool water. Squeeze for a refreshing drink. Avoid using hot water as the sumach will get bitter.
Trembling Aspen – The south side of this tree has a white powder which can be a useful way to figure out which way is south. The powder can be applied as a sunscreen. The inner bark is an emergency food source.
Thissle – The stem of this prickly weed can be scraped with a knife, then eaten raw. It tastes like celery.
Burrdock – The roots are very edible. Best boiled or steamed. Cook with baking soda. The large leaves are tough but edible. But the leaves are most useful as a way to hold food, or for lining a steam pit. You can make a steam pit by digging a hole, lighting a fire with stones (don’t use river stones or limestone) for a few hours. Then add a layer of dirt, some burrdock leaves, the food (such as burrdock roots), cover with more leaves, then more hot rocks from another fire. Pull a pointed stick out of the mound and pour in some water into the hole left by the stick to make the steam inside the mound.
Milkweed – edible but avoid as it looks too similar to a poisonous plant. But the winter stalks are good for making string or rope.
Indian Hemp (or Dogbain) have stalks that are good for making a strong string/rope.
Basswood (Linden) – a straight branch or sucker from the base of the tree makes an excellent spindle for friction fire starting, but must be dried. You can eat the buds of this tree in the early spring. They taste a bit like peanuts.
Plantain – excellent fibre (like sillium) for clearing out the digestive tract.
Dandelion – eat the roots, flowers (as fritters) or bitter leaves. Bitterness is an important flavour missing in most people’s diet. It is very useful for clearing the body of blockages that manifest as skin rashes, etc.
